Preservation of human or animal tissue samples for analysis is traditionally performed by the use of toxic preservation fluids which have to be treated with special care. At the same time, a rapid immersion of the tissue sample is essential for maintaining as many of the characteristic tissue sample properties as possible for structural and molecular analysis. It is therefore important to be particularly attentive to the handling of the toxic preservation fluid, since there is a risk that a potentially hasty use of toxic fluids may give stressful and dangerous situations. Prolonged or repeated contact with preservation fluids may result in development of respiratory impairment or chronic respiratory inflammations such as asthma or chronic bronchitis. A single accidental spill involving an exposure to a high concentration of preservation fluid may also result in respiratory impairment due to the toxic fumes that some preservation fluids produce. Furthermore, there is also a risk of eye damages if a person gets the preservation fluid in the eyes. Therefore, the preservation fluids are traditionally handled using a fume cupboard, gloves, and goggles or other types of complete eye protection. If the surgery room does not contain a fume cupboard, the tissue samples taken during surgery need to be transported to another room or location which results in a delay and an extra need for cleaning of the person involved. These factors are time consuming and prolong the time for immersing the tissue sample into a preservation fluid; such delay is disadvantageous as it may cause damage to the tissue sample.
Furthermore, not all medical clinics have a fume cupboard, and this may hinder the clinics in being able to perform even small biopsies, such as skin biopsies, due to the toxic danger of the preservation fluid; or it may force some clinics to perform the biopsies nevertheless which involves a great risk.
When handling large volumes of sample, such as an intestine, that needs to be preserved, a large volume of preservation fluid is required, and this can be unwieldy and thereby dangerous due to the risk of toxicity if accidents occur.
Hence, a device for handling the preservation fluid without the risk of having contact with the preservation fluid would be advantageous, and in particular a more efficient and reliable device for dispensing the preservation fluid rapidly and without risk would be advantageous.
Certain biological procedures, such as water sample analysis, may involve dispensing of different fluids that need to be dispensed in accurate amounts and in a certain order, and may furthermore involve components as inhibitors and toxins. These analyses are therefore time consuming and may even lead to unsuccessful results due to incorrectly followed procedures; they may additionally constitute a risk for the person performing the analysis. For this type of analyses it would therefore be advantageous to obtain a dispensing device that is easier to use and with a lower risk of incorrectly followed procedures, including using incorrect amounts of fluids. For some, but not all, of these types of analyses, it will furthermore be advantageous to obtain a device for handling the preservation fluid without the risk of having contact with the preservation fluid.